Turkey was also supposed to be the European manufacturer and depot-level maintenance for the F-35 as well. That was yanked from them over this S-400 air defense debacle.
TAI was also going to supply fuselage sections for ALL F-35s manufactured in the U.S. once full rate production began. Now that they aren’t, this has put a crimp in L-M’s logistics flow, but we haven’t hit full rate production yet, eitehr.
TAI builds a lot of their own aircraft and helicopters from scratch, so they’re much more than just a kit assembler.
Yes, I’ve seen photo’s and reports about some of their helicopters. Spartan, but functional. However they cannot hold a candle to the sophistication of most US aircraft manufacturers. Their pilots are not the same as ours, certainly not since the “Coup” (faux or otherwise). Their leaders are a brutal ruthless people. That has a cost that goes with it.